Lessons Learned
by Axel Lives
Summary: ...well, you have to wonder if there's something more besides this. Karl and Rob conversation drabble.


Alright, just a little drabble of a conversation between Karl and Rob. Nothing really special, but I thought it was kind of fun...

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything here. Accusations on this matter are punishable by the Gravity Cannon. o.o

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Karl Schubaltz exited his office, feeling absolutely dreadful. He hadn't slept in three days...sleep? What was that? They were so busy fixing all the mess that Hiltz and the Deathsaurer had caused that he was lucky if he was able to step out for a moment like this. His boots made a hollow echo as he ascended the staircase leading to the rooftop of the base. Relief spread through his system as the cool night air hit his face. Crossing the rooftop, he leaned over the railing and surveyed what was going on down below. He could clearly make out the forms of Thomas, Van, Irvine and Raven. The maverick pilot had since joined the Guardian Force and was fitting in surprisingly well... 

A slow smile spread across his features as he faintly caught the sound of Thomas yelling at Raven to stop fooling around with Beek. The four of them all began yelling at each other in unison, but he knew they were just empty threats. That was how those four got along with each other...like a house on fire. Sighing, he reached into his pocket and pulled out two objects. One was a cigarette, the other was lighter. Placing the cigarette between his lips, he led the lighter up for a moment, running his thumb over the name engraved on it.

_Johnathan Schubaltz_

That was his grandfather's name. This had been his lighter and he considered it to be "good luck". He'd given it to Karl's father who, in turn, had given it to him. He briefly wondered of someday he had a son to give it to...

"Van, you idiot, that's very delicate equipment!"

"Hey, I haven't slept in three days, Thomas! I'm doing the best I can!"

"So are we Freiheight, but we're somehow managing not to fuck up the job."

"Shut the hell up, Raven!"

...at this rate, he'd probably die before his next paycheck came. Shrugging, he flicked the lighter open and lit the end of his cigarette. He coughed slightly as he inhaled. You see, Karl actually didn't smoke. Hell, he didn't even know why he was right now. He barely noticed Rob Hermann walk up behind him. The Republican Colonel leaned against the railing next to him, undoing the top button and loosening the collar of his uniform.

"I didn't know you smoked, Schubaltz." Rob said suddenly.

Karl inhaled, coughing slightly. He closed his eyes as he exhaled slowly, before opening them to look at Rob. "I don't."

"Oh...so, does it help with the stress?" he asked.

Karl studied the cigarette in his hand before shrugging. "Not really."

"Huh. I always heard it did. Ah, well...there goes that rumor." Rob said with a chuckle.

The two stood in silence for a moment, watching the four below them. O'Connell had come out since then, trying to calm the four of them down. In the end, the poor Captain was chased away by Raven wielding a large wrench. Hermann had a little laugh at his subordinate's expense...sometimes O'Connell was just too skittish. He was struck by a sudden thought and decided to relay it to the Imperial Colonel standing next to him.

"Bet you never though it would turn out like this when you enlisted." Rob said.

"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing." Karl noted with a slight smile. "I suppose I was thinking what my father and his father before me were...go to war, fight, maybe you die, maybe you come home, maybe you get old before the war ends...things like that."

"Yeah...I really only enlisted because my dad sort of expected it from me. Y'know...President's Son thing. Makes me wonder what I would have done if I HADN'T enlisted." Rob said, watching Van howl in pain as he dropped a heavy pipe on his foot.

"Mmmm. It's like...well, for instance, all I wanted to do from the time I was a kid was to be a soldier. I worked harder than anyone else at the academy, learned the art of war inside and out, and learned to pilot a Zoid with as much skill as I could muster. Then, I find myself here and a person like me can't just drop out of the military. This is all I know."

Hermann stared at him strangely for a moment. It wasn't often the other spoke quite like this.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm unhappy, I just...well, you have to wonder if there's something more besides this." Karl said.

"I know exactly what you're saying. In times of peace such as this, there's no use for a military. We're probably going to get fat and old, dying one day of boredom as we sit at our desks trying to red the print on the paperwork through our coke-bottle glasses." Hermann said with a laugh. "Guys like us...this is what we do."

"Huh."

The lapsed into another silence. A gentle breeze drifted through and Karl closed his eyes appreciatively, letting the wind tease his golden lochs. He would rather it be peaceful like this from now on, but there was some part of him that still longed for the thrill of battle. That feeling you get after a long fight and you know you're going to pull out the victor. Days like that, he imagined, were probably going to be hard to come by now. He could already hear Van complaining in the back of his mind about the lack of action. And what about those boys? What would they do now? They were professional pilots, members of the Guardian Force, but if there was truly to be peace then what else could they possibly do?

The thought saddened him slightly. Those four were like...like wild birds. You can't keep them in a cage. He'd seen what had happened to a wild bird that was caged. Slowly but surely, its feathers started to lose their sheen, it began eating and drinking less and less, it stayed in one corner of the cage, until at last, the poor thing died. It died of a broken soul. So what would happen to them if they were forced to be caged?

"At least you learn things in the military, though. Discipline, manners, tactics...those are pretty valuable on or off the battlefield." Hermann noted.

"I see what you mean. Well, Hermann, I'll let you in on the three most important things I've learned as an officer." Karl said.

"Shoot." Hermann said with a grin.

"Well, first of all..." Karl said, inhaling on his cigarette, a cough mingling with a laugh as he exhaled. "...I hate cigarettes. Second, Guinness goes good with a Tequila Shot. And, if you have enough Guinness..."

He paused for a moment, as though debating over something in his head. Then, he rolled up the sleeve of his military uniform and showed Hermann his upper arm. The Republic Colonel was shocked into silence at the sight of a small tattoo of a Zaber Fang there.

"...they don't really hurt that much." Karl said with a smirk.

Rolling his sleeve back down, he crushed the cigarette beneath his boot and turned to the door, waving back over his shoulder and leaving a very stunned Hermann in his wake. He listened to the echo of his boots again as he descended the staircase...it sounded less hollow this time.

-Owari-

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Well, hope you enjoyed it. Sorry if either character was a bit OOC...I usually try to keep as far away from that as possible, but sometimes it manages to creep its way into my writings. >.> Reviews are appreciated, flames will be donated to local boy scouts so they can make smores. 


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